THE small South Australian town of Freeling is in mourning today after the death of beloved son, footballer and cricketer Brad Muster.

Mr Muster, 24, died on Thursday while snowboarding at Whistler in British Columbia, Canada.

He had travelled there on holiday with his girlfriend, Kate, and died after crashing into a tree.

His parents, former Freeling Football Club president John "Polly" Muster and Anne, were last night mourning privately and declined to comment publicly.

A cousin, who did not wish to be named, said Mr Muster's death was "just tragic".

Brad Muster, who died in a snowboarding accident in Canada on Thursday, with Kate. Picture: Facebook

"Brad was captain of the Paskeville Football Club, because he'd been living in Kadina the past couple of years," the cousin said.

"Before he left Freeling, he was heavily involved in the local football club, in cricket and in all sorts of things in the community. This is certainly a great loss to the community and, of course, to his family."

Mr Muster was educated at Kapunda High School and was appointed head prefect.

Friends told The Advertiser he had once met, and shaken hands with then Prime Minister John Howard.

Brad Muster, who died in a snowboarding accident in Canada on Thursday, with Kate. Picture: Facebook

They said he was an accomplished snowboarder.

Paskeville Boors Plains Cricket Club president Matthew Rose said Mr Muster was "just a terrific person".

"He was much loved by all of us, so we're pretty devastated," he said.

"He's probably only been in the area I'm guessing four years, but he certainly left an impact on the community.

Brad Muster, who died in a snowboarding accident in Canada on Thursday, with Kate. Picture: Facebook

"He was a very talented cricketer and footballer, it just came naturally to him."

Mr Muster's former employer, Freeling publican Brenton Hancock, said the community had hoped he would move back to their town.

"We tried to get him back every year to play for us," he said.

Mr Hancock said he had lowered his pub's flag to half-mast as a sign of respect.

"You always read about someone being a top bloke - he really was," Mr Hancock said.

Mr Muster was reportedly snowboarding with Kate on Whistler Mountain when they realised they could not continue on their chosen run because of steep terrain, the Vancouver Sun reported.

He and Kate tried to walk down but he slipped, slid down the hill, hit some trees and suffered a severe head injury in an area known as the Blue Cliffs.

The Vancouver Sun said Mr Muster was part of a group of six to eight friends from Australia who were on the last day of a five-day trip.

It said a mountain doctor provided advanced life support before he was taken by helicopter to the Whistler Health Care Centre.

He was transferred to Vancouver General Hospital but died around 7pm on Thursday, local time.

Whistler Royal Canadian Mounted Police Staff Sgt Steve LeClair said the pair got into some terrain that was quite steep.

"They'd taken off their snowboards in an attempt to walk down the hill. And the male slipped, slid down the hill and appears to have impacted with some trees on the way down and suffered serious head trauma."

Whistler is a leading skiing destination for Australians, with 34 per cent of the Whistler workforce coming from Australia.

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